Letting Go
by TamaChan xD
Summary: Some things are harder to let go of as Cloud finds out first hand. Being the new kid in Senior year and everything at home becomes too much. Sephiroth and Aerith are married and Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo are Cloud's step brothers and Tifa, Cloud's fraternal twin is dead. How will he cope? Will Zack help him? Rated M for future chapters and language.
1. Chapter 1

Letting Go.

Chapter one

Cloud.

I can't believe she's gone. The only thing keeping me sane is this fucking house and she's gone. I sob quietly as I sit in Tifa's room; we found out that she was run over by a drunk driver on her way back from school. This is one of the reasons I hate Midgar. She was my twin sister. We weren't identical, oh no, I am blonde, male with quite a short but lean build whereas Tifa, my beautiful sister, she was tall, but not overly so. She was a big breasted woman with long dark hair. We were complete opposites, I liked my alone time and she always felt the need to be around people. I miss her so much, it's weird to think I only said I'll see you later Tifa with a wave and a smile and then just as I'm leaving the office of Midgar High, I get a phone call from the police station. I pretty sped to the hospital on Fenrir, my bike that Tifa and I built together, to the hospital. I got there before anyone else. I sat down by her side and held her hand and begged her to stay with me! It sounds selfish but I couldn't bear to face the rest of my life without her. Ahh fuck I'm crying again. I jerk my head up at the sound of someone laughing; there in the doorway of the room is Kadaj, one of my step brothers.

"Ahh poor Cloud, Tifa leave you all alone? What a surprise.. Not!" he says sarcastically, before sauntering away looking like the cat that got the canary. I leap up and run out of the room to beat his ass but only end up running into my step father, Sephiroth Wing. He glares at, Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo all snickering at the bollocking I get from him for chasing one of his 'prized' sons with intent to harm. "Cloud! You better be listening to me boy! I will not tolerate any violence towards any of my sons. And no excuses, if it happens again I will personally see to it that can't harm another hair on their heads." Sephiroth scolds me like I'm a child, yet I'm eighteen. I start Midgar High tomorrow, I'm a senior. I'll be the new kid in senior year, no doubt Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo have already started spreading rumours. The only one that is true is that I'm gay. I only trusted Tifa with that little secret. I trudge back to my room and start packing my stuff and moving it Tifa's. I had decided to have her room instead of one of those ungrateful pricks. Mum knew exactly what I went through with the three precious sons of Sephiroth's but never had the guts to say something. Always looking at me apologetically. I notice the time and have a shower before heading to bed; I cried myself to sleep that night, thinking of Tifa and how she would beat down on Kadaj's ass when he went in her room.

The next morning I wake up to my alarm blaring out the classical section of my iPod. It was Tifa who put it there, she persuaded me to learn the piano, and then she recorded some of my songs. I felt tears sliding down my face and wiped my face in the pillow. I slowly sat up and stretched. I hunted for a pair of my Tripp baggy jeans and found a black stretch knit hoodie to wear over my plain black top. I went through my normal routine of brushing my teeth, attempting to tame my hair and breakfast. Once I was finished with that, I grabbed my backpack and black DCs and wandered downstairs to get ready to leave. I went to the garage and hopped on Fenrir, got everything sorted and off I went. I left purposefully early today, to get to school and figure my way around and to see what the trip had planned for me. Arriving at the school; was nothing unusual, a few people already there. They stared at me as I walked past them. I took the steps two at a time and went to the office to get my schedule and locker and all that crap. Once I received them I decided to wander around the school, I found everything that was on my schedule with ease. I decided to go back outside to Fenrir, when I noticed a group of people huddled around him. I headed for my bike quickly only to find people were just staring at it. I pushed through the crowd to get to him and pulled my keys out of my pocket to get my bag from one of the many compartments me and Tifa had designed.

People watched in awe as I sat on the bike and pressed a palm to the oil tank and the compartment with my bag opened. Then before I can grab it, I hear someone saying they'll scratch Fenrir, and I knew that voice anywhere. "Kadaj, you know I have better hearing than you think," I murmur under my breathe as he lunges for the paint on the tank. I snap my hand out and grab his wrist. He looks at me angrily and starts threatening me with his dad. I grab my bag and get off Fenrir, making sure to lock him properly. Before I could step through the crowd someone steps in my way with their hand held out ready to shake. I look up to see a slightly taller guy, with raven hair and a cheeky grin. "Hi I'm Zack, Zack Fair," he says. I take his hand tentatively, "Cloud Strife, just call me Cloud." I respond with no emotion. He frowns at something that I am not aware of and head to my first class, AP Chemistry, as the bell rings. I make it to class as everyone starts to go to their respective groups and start talking. I notice the teacher up the front and go to him.

"Umm, Sir? I'm new, where should I sit?" I asked quietly. My teacher turned around and looked me up and down before smiling weirdly. He kept staring and his smile was creeping me out. "And you are, young man?" he asks. If possible his smile gets wider as I nervously scratch the back of my head. "Cloud Strife, sir." His eyes seem to brighten at that. Then he jots something on a scrap piece of paper. This guy is weird. "I am Professor Hojo. You can go and sit at the back next to Zack, he's the only person without a lab partner." He dismisses me after telling me where to sit. I turn around and realize I'm paired up with the kid from earlier, except now he's wearing a varsity jacket. I sigh and think to myself. This is going to be one long year. I walk to my seat and take it. Hojo sets us a task to make a chemical to react with another chemical. I sigh and set to work only to feel eyes staring at me. I look up to see Zack staring intently at me. "Can I help you?" I ask him a bit harshly. He jumps surprised at being caught, he coughs and scratches his head nervously. "Umm, well you kinda remind me of someone I met over the summer. You have the same facial expressions." I must have given him a weird look because he quickly thought through what he said and said something else, "I worked with her down at the local mechanics in town. Cid Highwind's place. She used to scrunch up her brow too whenever she thought." I stopped what I was doing and nearly dropped the conical flask I was holding. I felt the tears spring into my eyes before I bolted from my chair and out of the room. I saw everyone look at Zack shocked and then at me briefly as I fled the room to find a way onto the school roof.


	2. Chapter 2

Letting Go

Chapter 2

Zack

I wake up with a smile like always, even if it is another school day… Yay. "Mum, is breakfast ready?" I ask as I walk into the kitchen half asleep still.. Until the smell of chocolate chip pancakes hits my nose. In a matter of minutes the pancakes are gone and I'm frowning at my plate and rubbing my stomach. Oh I ate them all.. Again. I give my mum a kiss on the cheek as I leave for school, getting into my beat up Impala. "I can't wait to see Tifa again to fix this baby up," I say to myself as I stroke the steering wheel lovingly. I heard that we had a new kid or something at school today, I can't wait to meet them. I turn the key in the ignition and start the drive to school pulling in after a guy on a bike. I haven't seen that bike before. It must be one of the new kids. I shrug it off and drive to my normal spot between Kunsel's car and Barrett's. Both my best friends. "Yo, Kunsel! Get your ass here mate," I call to the red headed idiot trying to chat up Yuffie and Serah. He notices me and heads over to my car. We do THE hand shake; fist bump, hand shake, bro hug and then head butt. Kinda like Squirt and Crush's handshake in Finding Nemo. "So how you been, Zack? Haven't seen you much this break." Kunsel says suggestively. Trying to get gossip knowing him. "Ahh well was working at Cid's Mechanics place Kunsel, pretty awesome couple of weeks if you ask me. There was this girl; she was a proper grease monkey. She could fix anything under the hood of a car with her eyes shut. It was amazing." I gushed, sounding like a little fanboy.

As me and Kunsel goof about, Yuffie bounces up to us talking about the new guy. Saying he's 'Fit' and 'sex on legs' etc. I roll my eyes at the pint-sized wannabe ninja. "Hello to you too Yuffie," I chuckle at her. She suddenly stops and latches onto me in a bone crushing hug, "Zack why didn't you come to my party over break?" She yells at me. I rub the back of my head nervously and say something about working long hours. And then she just drags me over to some bike on the other side of the car park. It was the bike I followed into the parking lot. Where's the rider? As I thought that I felt someone push past me and unlock the bike, doing something with his hand on the tank. Then out of nowhere his hands flies out and stops Kadaj's hand, making him drop the keys he was holding. He looks on the verge of tears. I try my hardest not to laugh at Kadaj, I've never liked him. Then he storms off with his brothers following him. I step up to the blonde guy, his hair resembles a Chocobo, I chuckle to myself at the thought. "Hi, I'm Zack, Zack Fair," I say as I hold my hand out for a shake. He turns around and shakes my hand, "Cloud, Cloud Strife." He says before heading to class. I stop in my tracks as I realize why he looked so familiar, he has Tifa's facial features. Gaia, it's been ages since I've seen her. I jolt as I hear the bell ring for class. I lock up my class and head to AP Chemistry with Hojo, erghh that guy gives me the creeps. I shudder at the thought of seeing the teacher.

I go to my seat immediately and notice the new guy talking to Hojo at the front of the class; Hojo's has that look in his eye that he's interested in someone. And it's directed at Cloud. I feel sorry for the guy immediately. Then the next thing I know is Cloud is sitting next to me and getting everything ready for the class. I don't realize I'm staring until he puts everything down and asks me why I'm staring. I can't help it; he looks so much like her, sans the boobs and everything. It's just the facial expressions.

And then I open my mouth. And oh look he's gone. He literally bolted from the room. I was left in the dust looking at the swinging lab door as it shuts after him. He's left all his stuff. I pack it away, deciding I'll go find him after this period. I frown at the looks I get from the rest of the class. Then I hear Hojo's voice from the front of the class. "Zachary, please go find Mr. Strife. I will not allow anyone to skip my lessons." He demands and then dismisses me. I sigh and get up, walking out the room and glad to be out of there too. I look up at the ceiling and wonder where someone like Cloud would go. And then it hit me. Tifa had said she had a fraternal twin brother, named Cloud. Oh that's why they look alike. Then why did he bolt from the room when I said he looked like her. I sigh and head for the roof, wanting some air myself; I did not expect to find a crying blonde in my spot though. He must have heard the door because he whips his head round immediately as the door clangs shut. His eyes are bloodshot and ringed with red. He sniffles and goes back to hugging his knees. I sigh and sit next to him, without thinking I wrap my arm around his shoulders as he sobs into his knees. I didn't know what to say. I mean it's not every day you find a senior crying on the roof especially not a guy.

He stops crying and shrugs off my arm, standing up and dusting off his trousers he looks at me with contempt. "Hey, what was that look for? I was sent to find you by Hojo." I tell him. He seems shocked then smiles slightly. "So you're the one who Tifa told me about," he murmurs to himself. At the mention of Tifa his eyes sadden and his spiky hair looks like its deflating. "Ah so you are Tifa's brother, as I thought. Why'd you bolt when I said you looked like someone I know?" I ask quietly as he sits on the ledge, legs dangling over. He looks so fragile, so child like. I realize he's saying something, I lean close to him so I can hear him and wish that I didn't. "Tifa died a few days ago, she was my sister and best friend," he sobs out and keeps mumbling something under his breath as he rocks back and forth. It sounded like "She's not dead, she's coming back." I felt so sorry for the guy; I had only known Tifa for a couple of weeks, and she managed to tell that I was gay after talking to me for a minute or two. And then she used to tell me all about Cloud, her brother, telling me he was gay and everything. "I don't know what to say, Cloud. All I know is that Tifa never shut up about you when she was working at Cid's with me. I'm so sorry," I say in sympathy and hug him tightly as he sobs into my chest.

I just sit there hugging this guy I have known for all of two hours and I feel like I don't want to let him go. I rock him slightly without even noticing I'm doing it. I'm rubbing his back gently and whispering comforting words in his ear. And that's when he looked up and his brilliant blue cerulean eyes just seemed to glow, his cheeks flushed pink with red rimmed eyes from crying. He looked beautiful. Even when the rain started, dampening his hair so it struggled to keep its form with the weight of the added water. He looked absolutely beautiful. I realized I was staring at him then, my lips open slightly and I wanted to kiss those stray tears away from falling on his cheeks. I had it bad and I wanted to make this guy happy.

**A/N**

**So that's chapter two. This will be the only update for a while as I go on holiday on Friday and I have a ton of packing to do still. **

**Clack_WWBM_Lover: You are right, it was Tifa, and thank you, this is my first proper fic really my others are either one shots or full of laughs and stuff. And thank you again. ^_^**

**Thank you for reviewing :3**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone, sorry about the late update, been swamped with work and stuff. So I am so sorry! **

**Disclaimer: All rights to Square Enix. **

_**Italics: Singing and thoughts. **_

Letting Go

Chapter 3

Cloud

I don't know how I ended up in Zack's arms but it helped. It helped me to realize that Tifa wasn't entirely gone. That she was still with me, just not in person. I sigh against Zack's chest as I remember her. Without thinking, I nuzzle against the warm chest, ignoring the sharp intake of breathe from above me. "I miss her so much," I mumble quietly, not caring if Zack heard me or not. Apparently he heard, because I felt his arms tighten around me. "You know, she would smile stupidly whenever she spoke about you, it kind of made me curious as to who was the cause of her being so happy," I say nudging Zack gently in the stomach. I feel something against my hair, and turn my head up to see Zack with lips pressed against my hair. I blush and duck my head to hide said blush. He chuckles and then gently grasps my chin, tugging my face up so that our faces were only an inch apart. My breath hitches at the closeness, before he pecks my cheek quickly before sighing. He starts to run his hands through his spiky hair. Subconsciously I reach up the touch the aforementioned spiked hair, upon realizing how soft it actually is. I start stroking his hair, not even noticing that I am, until I hear a kind of purring sound coming from Zack's chest, the vibrating rhythm making me jump a little.

All of a sudden he jumps, pulling me with him. He pulls me into his arms, and gently wiping away the tear marks from my face. I lift my hands up after his leave my face. He smiles sweetly down at me, as my breathe hitches at the sight. Jokingly, I gently punch him in the arm as we head back class. As we walk back in, Hojo stops chastising some student to leer at us. "Sir, I am sorry about my outburst," I say before I head back to my seat next to Zack, smirking at the blank and speechlessness of Professor Hojo. I hear Zack snickers next to me as he notices too. As soon as the bell rings I'm out of my seat and near the door, when someone grabs my hand, stopping me from going anywhere. I turn to see Zack, smiling goofily at me, before he suddenly drags me out of the classroom. I fumble with my backpack, trying to find my schedule, but when I do finally have it in my hands; a certain raven plucks it from my grasp. "Cloud, you won't need this anymore," he says smiling, I just stare at him like he's grown another head. He just smiles and takes his own schedule from his back pocket, before handing me both. And then as I look at them I realize what he meant. It turns out that we are both in the same class, for everything. I thanked the heavens on this one little miracle as I follow him to our next class, music.

As we walk in, we're pushing each other about and just plain joking about. The bell hasn't gone off yet, so we walk over to a joint desk, claiming it as ours. As we were the only people in the room, I leaned into him as he hugged me. I felt him kiss my forehead, humming contentedly, that was until the only people I really didn't want to see walked through the door. "Oh if it isn't my lovely step-brother, Cloud," Kadaj sneered as he entered the room with Loz and Yazoo. I groan and pull away from Zack. I glare viciously at him, then smirked when I noticed his wrist bandaged from where I grabbed it that morning. "Aren't you a little lacking in talent to be in here Cloudy?" Loz decides to say mockingly, just as Yazoo laughs at the terrible joke. I roll my eyes at their immaturity, and turn back to Zack, who looks very confused. Until I hear shouting from the doorway. And suddenly I'm back in Zack's arms, I tilt my head up to see him smirking as this overly hyperactive petite girl comes running through the throng of people, shoving them this way and that. "OH MY GOD! So it is true that we have a new student." She almost screams. I flinch back into Zack as he laughs at my reaction.

"Cloud, this is Yuffie, my very exuberant sister," he murmurs in my ear, I flush as I feel his lips against my ear. I smile at Yuffie who looks to be getting impatient. I tug myself out of Zack's grip to stand and hold my hand out to Yuffie. "Hi, I'm Cloud, it's nice to meet you," I say with a genuine smile. Just as I'm about to take her hand in a shake, I find myself on my back on the floor, with a slight weight on me, until it's suddenly lifted. I open my eyes to see a pouting Yuffie, with crossed arms huffing at Zack to put her down, Zack is just smiling at her wholeheartedly. I struggle to get back up, not noticing that everyone was watching the exchange. Once I'm up, I engulf Yuffie in a hug to get her smiling again, and then return to my seat as Zack does the same. Then our teacher arrived. She was really nice and her voice was absolutely mesmerizing. Even though we to address all of our teachers by Sir or Madam, or Madam Fang in Yuna's case. Instead she asked us to call her Yuna, her first name, I didn't mind, she was so approachable and kind, I never topped smiling during the lesson. The lesson was introducing ourselves and performing with our favorite musical instrument or singing or both. I watched intently as everyone performed. Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo performed as a trio with a cello, viola and violin. I was awestruck when Zack pulled out an acoustic guitar and started to play Lover Dearest by Marianas Trench. It's one of my favorite songs, but what made it even better was when he started singing. He voice just an octave lower than Josh Ramsay's. I was almost in tears by the time he finished.

And then it was my turn. I could hear my step-brothers snickering behind me as I got up to walk to the front of the classroom. I rack my brain trying to think of a song to sing, it was a hard decision. I was torn between Halestorm, Marianas Trench or Billy Talent. I sigh as the class looks at me expectantly. With a slight smile I think of the perfect song at that moment. "Umm Hi, I'm going to be singing "Familiar Taste of Poison" by Halestorm. Anyone who doesn't know who this band is needs to listen to them," I say a little less confident than I normally was. Yuna put the instrumental version on through the speakers, using YouTube. And then I lifted my lips to the mic and started to sing.

_Drink the wine, my darling, you said  
Take your time, consume all of it  
But the roses were only to drain my inspiration  
the promises were spoiled before they left your lips and...  
_

I'd closed my eyes and wasn't aware of the awestruck faces around the room. And then I threw myself into the chorus of the song. 

_I breathe you in again just to feel you  
Underneath my skin, holding on to  
The sweet escape is always laced with a familiar taste of poison_

I tell myself that you're no good for me  
I wish you well, but desire never leaves  
I could fight this til the end  
But maybe I don't want to win

I breathe you in again just to feel you  
Underneath my skin, holding on to  
The sweet escape is always laced with a familiar taste of poison

I don't wanna be saved, I don't wanna be sober  
I want you on my mind, in my dreams behind these eyes  
And I won't wake up, no not this time.

I breathe you in again just to feel you  
underneath my skin; holding on to  
the sweet escape is always laced with a familiar taste of poison

A familiar taste of poison

As the song comes to an end, I open my eyes and suddenly the room is filled with loud applause. I blush and duck my head scratching at the back of my neck. And then I'm engulfed in two sets of arms. I see Zack behind me and Yuffie clinging to my waist. "I'm guessing you enjoyed that?" I ask them stupidly, earning a pair of tight squeezes. As the class ended I came to a realization, if Tifa hadn't met this beautiful man, then I wouldn't have known how someone could completely turn my world a shade lighter than it has been for the past few days. _Thank you Zack for brightening up my world again and Tifa, I miss you so much, but thank you for letting me meet Zack. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer is still the same… Square Enix owns the characters… I just make them do my bidding. **

Letting Go

Chapter 4

Zack

After hearing Cloud sing, I knew I wouldn't be able to let him go. I felt like the song he sang was for Tifa, in fact I think every time that he rang her whilst we were working, that was her ringtone for him. I still had him in my arms with Yuffie wrapped around his waist. "You know, we should head to free period. You'll get to meet everyone," I whisper in his ear. He turns toward me and grins impishly before nodding and heading for our desk. He bends over reaching for his backpack, his pert ass hidden in those baggy jeans. I feel someone smack me upside the head and to see Yuffie glaring at me. "What? He's gay, and his sister was the one I worked with in Cid's garage," I mutter to her. Her face falling as I said that Cloud was gay. Ignoring my pouting sister, I walk over to Cloud and put arm around his shoulders to steer him towards the quad to meet everyone. Walking at a steady pace through the halls, ignoring all the looks we were getting. I couldn't get the idiotic smile off my face, I had a cute guy by my side and I was goddamn happy. Walking through the door to the quad, I smiled stupidly at all my friends who waved then looked questioningly at Cloud. I completely forgot he was there, I know it sound bad but I end up in my own little world of sweets, cuddles and bunnies. I'm being serious. I nudge Cloud, who seems to also be in a world of his own. He jumps and flushes when sees everyone staring at him.

"Guys, his is Cloud. Cloud this is my friends. I'll let them introduce themselves, because I can't be bothered." That earned me a smack from Barrett. "Owwwiee!" I whine at him, rubbing the back of head pouting, this made Cloud laugh. It was a beautiful sound, like wind chimes. "Okay ok, so this guy here is Barrett. He packs a mean punch," I explain and introduce the burly man whilst rubbing the abused spot on my head. "Now this lovely lady is Elena, she has a temper so don't get on the bad side of it," I murmur the last part in his ear, whilst pointing at said blonde woman. "And the redhead there with the weird tattoo things under his eyes is Reno. He's a bit of a flirt but he is very loyal in his relationship to Rude, the guy in the sunglasses," I continued to explain to Cloud pointing to the redhead and burly bald guy. I smiled at Cloud as he smiled at them all and waved. Cloud sits down on the patch of grass in front of the group and is immediately caught in a conversation with Elena. I smile stupidly and hear "You're whipped!" whisper shouted in my ear from a certain redhead. I jump and flail before blushing. I scratch the back of my hair and smirk at Reno, "He's cute and I can't help it. He's just perfect for me," I say back to him, ignoring the other conversations going on in the group.

When the bell rang signaling for forth period I sigh and look up to see Cloud just standing up, dusting the dirt and muck off his jeans before turning to me. "Where to now, Zack?" he asks me, smiling slightly. I reach into my pocket for my schedule and realize its phys. Ed. I smile and pull him out of the quad shouting 'see ya later' to the others. We continue to walk down the halls towards the gym, unconsciously holding hands. We enter the gym and I look around and pull him into the corner to get changed. I turn around to give him privacy, changing into my own sweats and white beater. I turn around and see he's in similar attire, just all black; I smile at him and proceed to drag him into the gym to sit on the floor waiting for our teacher. "So what do you think of your first day here so far?" I ask him, intrigued by what he thinks of the school and my friends. He bites his lip slightly, as if in thought. When he doesn't answer me I gently poke his forehead, "Well?" I press him. He sighs, "Well, so far I have met the most awesome people ever, and the classes aren't too bad." He says with a small smile. I'm about to ask more but our teacher comes in. I turn and see Tseng, I smile evilly at him. He surveys the class, more than likely doing a mental check on which student to watch out for. His eyes widen when he sees me and he almost pales. "Ahem, I am going to be your physical education teacher for this year, you will do as you are told and if you do not attend my lessons I want a written reason from your parents about why." He shouts over the class. I glance at Cloud and he's trying to stifle laughter by the looks of it.

"Don't worry; he actually hates me for a reason Cloud. I can make him frown just by raising my hand. He's had to teach me phys ed. every year since I have been here," I whisper in his ear. He looks at me questioningly. "Right get into pairs; grab the things you need for tennis. You'll be playing against one another." I see Cloud smile out of the corner of my eye before getting up and offering him a hand. He takes my hand and stands up heading towards the gym cupboard before scrutinizing the rackets on the wall. He frowns slightly before fingering the handle on one that he has just picked up before deciding that it will do and wanders outside to wait for me. I shrug and grab any racket and some tennis balls. I see him standing against the fencing for one of the courts waiting for me. I jog up to him and smile before handing him a ball, indicating that he could serve. I hop over the net and in position, twirling my racket a little; knowing that I'm pretty good at tennis I smirk, thinking that it'll be a quick couple of games. That was when he served, and the ball hit me in the stomach, winding me.

**So yea, I suck at writing for Zack, he's just too complex xD But yeah it'll do I suppose. **

**Many thanks to:-**

**Layla**

**Hero-of-the-Dawn**

**Claire**

**Clack-WWBM-Lover**

**Keep reading and hopefully reviewing **


	5. Chapter 5

Letting Go

Chapter 5

Cloud

The tennis ball hit him straight in the gut; I nearly dropped my racket from shock before bending over in stitches. Zack was on the floor curled up in a ball, cupping his stomach. I jog over to see if he's okay, "You alright, Zack?" I ask, standing over him slightly. He glares at me before attempting to stand up, using his racket for support. I laughed again; it was such a funny sight. Even Tseng, our gym teacher, cracked a smile. He grumbled something under his breath as he stood up. He grabbed the ball from the ground and got into position again. I smirk at him before jogging back around the net to my side of the court. I bend down, twirling my racket and shifting from foot to foot. I smile at him smugly. He serves, hitting the ball pretty hard; I whack it back at him even harder. This carries on throughout the lesson, just parrying the ball between us. We even had a crowd, the girls were shocked and the guys were just waiting to see who got hit with the ball next. Ten minutes before the end of the lesson, I see the ball coming at me and hit it full pelt. It arches over the net and hits Zack in the crotch. I wince as I hear the air whoosh out of his chest. He grabs at his crotch and falls over. I cringe and run over to him; treating the net as a hurdle I leap over it, and crouch next Zack. Zack opens his eyes slightly; he glares at me before wincing slightly before clasping my hand in his. "Good game," he croaks out, I burst out laughing. I help him up, his arm around my shoulders. Together we limp towards the gym and changing rooms.

I helped him sit down, before running to the office to get some ice. As I walked over the office, Tseng came up to me. "Strife! How long have you been playing tennis?" he asked me. I shrugged, "About ten years or so." I reply casually. I grab some ice and dash back to Zack and hand him the ice bag. Zack smiled in thanks before wincing. "Sorry Zack. I didn't mean to hit the ball that hard," I say apologetically. He shrugs and slings an arm around my shoulders as I sit down on the bench next to him. I sigh before reaching for my clothes. I grab my bag and extricate myself from Zack's grip to head to the showers. As I step under the spray I wash quickly, so no-one has a chance to steal my clothes. My once gravity defying spikes are now plastered to my face. I get dried and dressed in record speed. As I'm pulling my long sleeved tee over my bare chest, Kadaj walks around the corner. I sigh and finish pulling top on then grab my hoodie and pull that over the top. "Well well well, what do we have here boys?" He sneers at me. I sigh again and grab my bag. "What do you want Kadaj? I need to get back to Zack." I say irritably. He smirks at me and the next thing I know he's punched me in the gut. I gasp and double over clutching at my stomach and grit my teeth, before standing back up to my full height, a few inches taller than Kadaj. I crack my knuckles and punch him straight in the jaw, knocking him out. I sigh and shake my hand whilst heading back to Zack.

Zack looked up as I limped over to him. Still feeling sharp pains in my stomach from the punch. Zack looks up, he notices my hunched over appearance and is immediately on his feet, heading towards me. "What happened?!" he exclaims n my face. I sigh and lift my tops a bit and admire the bruise that was forming on my abdomen. _That fucker! I'll get him next time. _I wince as Zack prods the bruise. "Quit poking it Zack, its sore. Just had a brotherly fight with Kadaj is all." I explained to him as he looked ready to mama bear me. He looks startled then starts shaking. Fists clenched so tightly you'd think he'd cut his palms to shreds. He looked ready to kill Kadaj; I place my hand on his arm, shocking him out of his little anger bubble. "It's ok; seriously this is normal for me and Kadaj. Admittedly he usually has Loz and Yazoo around but today he didn't so it was easy to knock the fucker out!" I say quietly to try and calm him down. "It still doesn't make the fact that he hit you any better in my eyes," Zack murmured back to me. I sigh and hug him tightly. Very thankful to have made as good a friend as Zack and on the first day of school no less. "What lessons next?" I ask him, trying to distract him. He jumps at the question and reaches into his back pocket, wait when did he get dressed?! "Umm we have English next, with Miss Lulu," he said a bit frightened. I arch an eyebrow at him and he just gulps. "Umm Lulu is, ah, very strict. No talking, no eating etc. if you get caught then you're fucked, Cloud," he stammered out. I tap my chin in thought, I swear I had a cousin called Lulu, and she was majoring English at college the last time I spoke to her. No it couldn't be, I can't wait to see if it is.

And so we left the gym and headed to the English block. I was nearly jumping with excitement to see if it was Lulu, my cousin. Zack just kept looking at me like I'd grown another head. "Why are you so excited to see the demon English teacher?" he seemed utterly shocked. I just smiled knowingly. As we got near the room, I got so excited I ran to the door and pretty much slammed it open. My eyes darted around trying to find the teacher and the possible cousin. And then I see movement by the desk. I scream excitedly and ignore the looks of the students already in the room and run at Lulu. My cousin is my English teacher! This is awesome. I hug her tightly to my frame, being a few inches taller than her was really helpful too. She looks taken aback at first then she recognizes me and squeals hugging me tighter. I smile down at her before kissing her cheek. "What are you doing here Cloud? I thought you were living in Kalm?" she demanded. I sigh and look at her a bit forlorn and shrug. "This may take a while, Lulu. Might want to let the class do reading or something, because you know that I've already read the syllabus." I say quickly and quietly. She sighs and looks a little torn. Before giving up and smiling slightly at me, and I know that I've won. I smile at Zack who looks a little pale. I walk up to him and wave my hand in front of his face. "Zack, you in there?" I ask patronizingly. He startles himself and looks at me in question as to why Lulu was writing on the board instead of yelling at the class. "What did you do? I need to know Cloud!" he whisper yells as he drags us to his desk, the one to the right of his being free I dump my stuff on top of the desk, before leaning over to whisper in his ear, " She's my cousin."

I tell you what; Zack nearly falling out of his desk was hilarious. Lulu looked like she was trying not to laugh, she has exceptional hearing, and I knew she heard our conversation. I smirked at her and she cracked. Pretty much cackling in front of her entire class. My classmates were getting scared so I turned around and told them to read the bored as Zack managed to right himself before grabbing my arm and pulling me close to him. "You have got to be kidding me. The Lulu, Demon English teacher is your cousin?" he says quietly so no one else in the room other than me and Lulu heard. I just stand there and nod at him smiling sweetly. He almost faints before I push him into his seat, peck him on the cheek and tell him to start reading. I walk up to the front and sit in the chair next to Lulu's desk as she tells the class what to do. "So how are you, bab?" she asks me, she's the only one in the family that doesn't know about Tifa. My throat clenches at the thought of having to tell her, her partner in crime was gone. "I'm good, struggling at the moment. There's something I have to tell you Lulu. You aren't going to like it though, and it's tearing me up just thinking about having to tell you because everyone else in our family is too chicken shit to say anything," I mumble to her. She looks a little frightened before standing and walking to the door, motioning for me to follow her. Once in the hallway I pull her to sit on the window sill opposite her classroom. I hold her hand as I say the words I hated to say words that I didn't want to believe myself. "Lulu, Tifa died a few days ago. She was in a car accident, died at the scene, they couldn't do anything for her," I sob to her. I see her face crumple as the news sinks in and we cling to each other and cry on each others' shoulders. I had cried enough times for Tifa, but now my tears were for Lulu, she'd lost her best friend; Tifa and Lulu were inseparable whenever they were together, and if you were pranked by them you knew it. Just seeing my normally strong cousin crumple into tears was horrible. I'm glad this is my last lesson. I place my mouth next to her ear and say the words which would mean the final goodbye, "Her funeral is on Saturday. I have all her things, Sephiroth wanted to throw them out. She planned her own funeral; she wanted you to speak at it. I would like for you to as well." Whispering the words that would probably mean the most to Lulu at that moment. "I know how you feel Lu, but I had the help of someone wonderful to help me realize that she isn't gone. No, she is still here, but only in here," as I say those last words I place my hand that's was holding hers over her heart then mine. "She won't ever leave us, Lulu. She loved us too much to leave that suddenly," I say sobbing again. I hug her tightly, closing my eyes and picturing Tifa. When suddenly another pair of arms have engulfed us. I look up and see someone who has changed my life so much.

**Ok so chapter 5 people! **

**The grammar isn't great but it is 11:50pm in the UK so yeah I am knackered. Again many thanks to all who read and reviewed this fanfiction it makes me happy to see that some people like my work **

**Many Thanks To:-**

**Clack-WWBM-Lover**

**Layla**

**Hero-of-the-Dawn**

**Black maid56**

**SoulNinjas**

**Devils crow never sleeps**

**Claire. **

**Thank you again **

**TamaChan~ xD**


	6. Chapter 6

Letting Go

I am sooo sorry for not updating lately! So much going on with hospital and doctors etc. I feel like I have let you all down

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, only the plot. Square Enix owns the characters… For now!

Chapter 6

Zack

I guess after hearing all about Tifa, and finding out that our demon English teacher is actually the chocobo's cousin, well it was a lot to take in. I sighed as I hugged the cousins close to me. Looking into beautiful tear filled eyes. I smiled slightly, hugging him tighter. After a good five minutes or so I unwound myself from the pair and shuffled back a bit, giving them some space. "Sorry for intruding, but I couldn't stand hearing Cloud cry again," I explained softly, scratching the back of my head. Lulu just laughed at me, before turning to Cloud and saying, "Cloud, you had to pick the biggest idiot in my class to date didn't you?!" Cloud blushed and chuckled nervously whilst scratching his cheek slightly. "Well, long story short, this doofus recognized that Tifa and I are twins. He worked with her at that garage over the summer. So yeah I freaked and bolted from Hojo's class," he explained quickly. I watched her face carefully, noticing her features tense up at the mention of Hojo. Hmmm interesting, why would she freak about Hojo? I mean I know he's a creep and a bit of a pervert, unless she knows something we don't. Not even noticing that I was stroking my chin in detective mode, that is until Cloud got right in my face and clapped his hands making me jump and shout, "I didn't do it!" Causing the cousins to laugh hysterically.

I pout and fold my arms and act like a spoilt brat. "Hey stop that, you look like Kadaj when he doesn't get his way," Cloud says poking me in the stomach, before hugging me. I sigh and wrap my arms around him. "Just stop laughing at me then. But I am hotter than Kadaj," I proclaim, making him giggle and bury his face in my chest. Lulu just nodded her head whilst chuckling. Then she surprised me, "Well Cloud, I approve of your relationship, and I know your mum will too. I might pop over later, if that's alright?" she said sweetly. He extricated himself from my body and nodded happily, "Yeah that would be great, I'll ring her at lunch and tell her you'll be over." They hugged before we all went back into the classroom and sat back down. And the demon emerged again, but she didn't pick on me once. I silently thanked the heavens for Cloud being my boyfriend then and there.

After English was lunch, and the whole way to the cafeteria me and Cloud held hands, fingers playing together and hands swinging. We were both smiling happily and just generally chatting; I opened the doors to the large room and headed for the queue straight away, grabbing two trays and piling food onto them. Cloud just happily watched me with a perplexed expression. After I deemed the trays sufficiently stacked I paid for them and walked over to my usual table, which was still empty. I sat down in my usual spot and tapped the seat next to me signaling that Cloud should sit down. He did reluctantly, but soon relaxed and leant against my shoulder whilst munching on an apple from his stacked tray. He sighed before looking down. "What's up?" I asked him quietly, he only pointed at a group of people heading towards where we were sat. I sighed and stood up, being careful not to jostle Cloud too much. "Kadaj, Loz, Yazoo, what can I do for you?" I said, not letting a trace of emotion into my voice. They sneered at me, Kadaj tried to shove past me, just as the rest of the group turned up. "Sup guys," I nod at them, all of them depositing food and bags before greeting Cloud. They were all watching like hawks. Waiting for Kadaj to lose his temper. Kadaj tried to shove past me again, so I blocked him and pushed him back. "What do you want? Or is it too hard for you to speak with a busted up jaw?" I smirked at him. Watching the eyebrow twitch before a fist came towards my face. I was about to retaliate when the fist was caught just inches from my nose. "That's enough fighting boys. Kadaj, my office now!" I looked to my left and saw Lulu glaring at the silverette trio. She turned to me and smiled. "He's been causing fights all over the place. And I saw him throw the first punch. Oh I love making these three suffer!" She giggled gleefully. Scaring the crap out of me, I heard a similar laugh and turned to see Cloud grinning as well. I shuddered and made a mental note not to piss either one off.

I walked back over to Cloud and kissed his cheek before picking up the piece of pizza lying on his tray and wolfing it down. He looked at me shocked before he picked up my chocolate pudding and dipped his finger in it, licking it slowly and so sexily off before doing it again. The whole table looked on in shock. No one ate my chocolate pudding and lived to tell the tale. That is until today, no one had ever eaten it like that, and my pants were starting to get a little tight. I hadn't noticed him finish the tub until her licked his finger one last time, and placed the pot neatly back on my tray. They group watched on as I finally snapped out of it, only to grab Cloud's hand and our bags and led him out of the room. Heading to the roof, where this whole thing started. As soon as we were on the roof, I had him against the closed door. My lips attached to his in a chaste kiss, sweet and slow. Teasing him slightly, I let my tongue snake out and lick at the tiny bit of chocolate pudding on the corner of his lips. He shudders and sighs, opening his eyes slowly, they seem to almost glow.

I lean back down and kiss him slowly, letting my tongue trail along his bottom lip asking for entrance. He sighs and opens his mouth, letting his hands glide through my hair, anchoring me to him. Like I was going anywhere anyway. I moaned into his mouth as I tasted him and the chocolate pudding mixed. He responded in kind, drawing my tongue into a battle with his. I broke the kiss for air, pressing my forehead against his, my eyes searching his face, watching those sinful eyelids draw up slowly. Revealing those beautiful cerulean eyes to me. "I think I'm falling for you," he whispers softly, if I hadn't been so intent on his face I could've swore my hearing was failing me. I smiled softly and kissed him chastely once more before responding with, "I think the feeling is mutual, babe." I pecked his nose playfully causing him to scrunch up his face and giggle. He smiled so sweetly, that I was caught off guard by his lips attacking mine so suddenly. We carried on making out for a while until I felt something vibrating against my leg. I pulled away, looking at the strand of saliva still attaching me to the beautiful blonde in front of me. Said blonde then fished his phone out of his pocket and answered it, "Hello? Yea it's going okay. Yea, Lulu is popping over when she finishes work. Ok. See you, Love you Mum." He looked at me sheepishly. He kept blushing; I had to bite my lip to stop from attacking him again. I hugged him close to me, smiling into his hair as his arms encircled me. I tilted his head, gripping his chin gently and leant down to kiss him just as the door behind us opened.

**Many thanks to: **

**Black maid56**

**Layla**

**Mjaacw**

**Hero-of-the-Dawn**

**Clack-WWBM-Lover**

**SoulNinjas**

**Devils crow never sleeps**

**I am ever so sorry about the long update. Been so busy, but I will attempt to keep the updates coming. Thought I'd throw in some fluffiness as an apology :3 **

**Keep reading folks! **

**TamaChan~**


	7. Chapter 7

Letting Go

I own nothing except the plot :3

Chapter 7

Cloud

That was the first time he'd kissed me like that. I thought I'd die from embarrassment when the door opened and someone walked out. I turned to face who it was who had interrupted mine and Zack's impromptu make out session. Only seeing it was Kadaj. He smirked at us, "Well well well, did I interrupt you homos? Diddums" He sneered at us. I felt Zack stiffen behind me, I just raised an eye brow at Kadaj. "You're one to talk, I swear I heard something coming from your room last night, it definitely sounded a lot like Yazoo moaning," I said, pretending to be clueless. The way his eyes widened was almost comical. I laughed softly, leaning back into Zack's embrace as his arms slid around my waist. I felt more than heard Zack snigger; I looked up at him, underneath my eyelashes and smirked. Kadaj looked ready to kill me. "You think you're so goddamn great don't you? Well you're not; Father isn't impressed with what you did to me earlier. In fact he actually said he'd deal with you for good when we got home," he announced sounding so sure of himself. I sighed, stepped out of Zack's arms, ignoring his pout. I walked up to Kadaj and leant into his ear, "Well, your daddy isn't here right now. I am not scared of him; in fact I could probably take the guy on myself if I wanted to. But I won't because for some strange reason my mum loves him. So instead of making idle threats, why don't you stand up for yourself instead of running to daddy every time someone hurts you?" I whispered in his ear. I leant back and folded my arms across my chest waiting for the words to sink in. I watched the emotions play out over his face, confusion, realization and then finally anger. With a scream of rage he flung himself at me, I saw Zack get ready to step in but I just winked at him. He looked confused, when I side stepped and Kadaj landed on his face. He was up in seconds. He whirled around and threw his fist at my face; I merely moved my head to the side. "You haven't improved at all. Damn and daddy is paying for all those martial arts lessons, and there's no improvement," I said sarcastically.

"Just fucking stay still you homo!" he bellowed at me. Calling me a homo wasn't really any change for him. But I'd had enough of his drama for one day so, I got into a fighting stance, rolled my neck and shoulders and lifted my hands in a come at me gesture. I smirked at him, his face going unnaturally pale. He ran at me, I dodged and planted my palm flat against his stomach and pushed him onto his back. I placed a foot on his stomach in the exact same place where I'd just hit him. He looked ready to cry. I bent down with my hands in my pockets and got in his face. "Just stay away from me, maybe you'll learn to be nice tonight, after my cousin is coming over," I grinned at him before moving my foot and going over to Zack. "What? Do I have something on my face?" I asked, he was staring at me with such a confused face it was almost cute. I smirked and kissed him lightly on the cheek, before bending over to grab my bag and walking through the still open door. I heard Zack stumble to pick up his bag and chase after me. Half way down the stairwell I felt myself being guided to the wall. I let myself be led, smiling softly at Zack. Peering up at him from under my lashes, I bit my lip, I heard him groan before my lip was tugged out of my teeth by another set. I kissed him back with fervor. "That was the hottest thing I have ever seen," he murmured against my lips as he kissed me over and over again. I just let my hands run up the back of neck into his spikes tugging softly. His tongue ran along my lips begging for entrance. I granted it almost instantly, tackling his tongue with my own. I knew I was moaning softly, but when his hands grabbed my ass, I had to moan out loud. My head thrown back the way is was gave him perfect access to my neck. He quickly attached his lips to the nook between neck and shoulder and sucked hard, causing me to moan again and tug a bit more harshly on his hair. He growled against my neck, biting softly. I knew I'd have a mark there, but I didn't care one bit. I was in heaven; I had a beautiful man attacking my neck like a damn vampire. It was like a fantasy come true.

I smiled at him, as he moved away from my neck observing his work. His thumb brushed over the bruise and grinned sheepishly at me, "Sorry," he whispered, I just smiled at him and kissed him. Then intertwined my hand with his and tugged his down the stairs to our final lesson, maths. I hate maths with a passion. I'm good at it but it's so boring. I sighed as we entered the room just as the bell rang. Our teacher wasn't too bad, just ultra scary. His name was Hollander. He gave me the creeps, kinda like Hojo. I shivered at the thought of the balding man. "I hate this lesson so much," I muttered as I was given a textbook to 'treasure' as Hollander said. I flicked through it and noticed that I'd already covered most of it. Shrugging I followed the instructions on the board and only looked up when someone stood next to me. I looked up at the person creating a shadow over my desk. "Can I help you with something?" I asked them. They were average height, blonde hair kinda like mine but brighter. I looked at them expectantly. "Umm do you mind if I sit next to you?" He asked me. I smiled at him, "Sure, what's your name?" I asked him. Ignoring the looks I was getting off the teacher, I went back to the textbook, copying the equations then working them out. "Tidus. The name's Tidus. You?" he replied. "Cloud." I responded automatically. He smiled at me before opening his textbook and working. As I glanced over I noticed he had most of them wrong, I sighed and shook my head. Then the bell rang. I packed my things away and leant against the wall just outside the classroom door. As soon as Zack was out I grabbed his hand in mine and grinned at him. "Hey, do you want to come over tonight? You know for dinner? My mum always makes too much so you're welcome if you want to," I said to him as we walked out to the parking lot. He seemed to think it over before nodding with a smile, I felt like jumping for joy.

I pulled my phone out and told him to put his number in, that I'd ring him with a time and directions. He only smiled at me before saying, "I wouldn't miss it. A chance to meet your mum sounds fun, not to mention the fact that Lulu is going to be there makes it even more entertaining when Kadaj is scared of her," he grinned at me. I only laughed in response. Our hands slightly swinging between us, it was then that I noticed that there were quite a few same sex couples at this high school. I smiled; thinking about how many of them would probably beat the crap out of Kadaj for his comment earlier. As I was pondering I didn't realize we were already at Fenrir. I smiled at the bike, stroking her tank, before inserting the key to a compartment to store my bag and books. I leant against her hugging Zack tightly. "I'll see you tonight?" I asked almost like a child. He smiled and nodded before bending down to kiss me soundly in front of the whole school. I blushed and responded instantly. When the need for air became too much we separated and smiled at each other. "I'll be awaiting for your call, babe," he said softly before kissing me chastely again and walking off to his car. I sighed and climbed onto my bike and rode home. Knowing the bashing I was bound to get off Sephiroth, I almost turned around followed Zack, but I had to tell my mum stuff so I had to go home and face the music.

**A big thank you to those of you that have forgiven me. I apologise again. And so many nice reviews :D **

**A big thank you to : **

**-Layla Fair**

**- Hero-of-the-Dawn**

**-Black maid56**

**-Clack-WWBM-Lover**

**-mjaacw**

**-SoulNinjas**

**-devils crow never sleeps**

**You don't know how hard it is trying to type with a faulty monitor screen. The thing keeps flickering on and off. Just pure irritating. **

**Toodles Guys :D **

**TamaChan~**


	8. Chapter 8

Letting Go

Chapter 8

Zack

It was by far the best thing I had ever seen. He kicked Kadaj's ass and looked damn fine doing it too. I have a kickass boyfriend! Cue happy dance. Then I realize I'm meeting his mum tonight. Oh shit, I hope she likes me. I fret about as I get home. Rushing about trying to find suitable and clean clothes, and try to do something with my untamable spikes. I sigh as they just don't want to cooperate. I sigh and rub my face as I stare at the full length mirror. I'm wearing well worn jeans that hug my ass just right with a smartish looking black button down. I looked like a lady killer. With a quick wink at the mirror I grab my stuff and head to my car. As I open the door I feel my phone vibrate, signaling that I had a text. I sit myself in the driver's seat and flip my phone open; it was a text from Cloud, telling me where he lives. I smile as I realize he doesn't live far from me and start the engine. Drumming my fingers against the steering wheel, singing along to whatever song was playing on the radio; I drove down the familiar streets. Not really paying attention when I realized I had arrived at my destination.

As I climb out of my car I straighten out my clothes and lock the car up before sighing shakily and walking up the path to the front door. I kept a small smile on my face, knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. When the door was wrenched open with some force, I blinked in shock. Some really tall guy with long silver hair was glowering at me. "Umm, I'm here for dinner? Cloud invited me." I say to him, he sighs and opens the door further to let me in. As I walk past him I hear him cuss Cloud. "His room is the one up the stairs and at the end of the hall." The man says to me before stalking off down the hall. I blink and slowly walk upstairs. I follow the angry mans' directions and knock on the closed door. "Cloud? You in there?" I ask after I knock again. He opens the door slowly. I walk in and stop dead when I see him. His face was swollen slightly around his left eye. His torso covered in yellowing marks. I saw red as he noticed me looking before scrambling to find a top to put on. I walk over to him and stop his hands, "What happened?" I ask him. Trying to keep the anger out of my voice. He flinches as I grab him to turn to me. I drop his wrist and look at him properly, there were hand shaped bruises and cuts that looked like scratches. I instantly knew who'd done this. I growled and hugged him to me. Refusing to let him go, we stayed like that for ages it seemed until we heard the front door opening. "Lulu must be here. Does she know this happens to you?" I murmured to him. He shook his head. Tensing slightly. I sighed and stroked his hair, making him curl into me more. I feel wetness on my shirt as he cries quietly. I stroke his back gently, whilst cussing the man downstairs.

I pull away from him, rubbing my hands up his arms when he shivers from the coldness in the room. "Get dressed, bab. Nothing will happen to you tonight. 'Cause you're going home with me. "I whisper into his mussed locks. He looks at me startled and just tentatively pulls on the top he tried to throw on earlier. He was beautiful, even with the swollen eye and bruises. "You know, you really should do something about him Cloud." I say to him when he's fully dressed and sitting next to me on his bed twiddling his thumbs looking every bit the lost lamb. He shrugs, "No-one would believe me. Sephiroth is a force to be reckoned with. This only happened because I beat Kadaj up at school. My mum knows this happens, but she's too scared to leave him, she's worried that he'll kill me or something along the lines of it anyway," he mumbles softly. I grit my teeth against the snarl building in my chest. That bastard lays another hand on Cloud again and I'll rip every finger from his joints! Feeling a soft hand gripping my clenched fist, knuckles white from the strain. I start to relax and slowly look up at Cloud, he smiles softly at me and twines his fingers through mine. I lift the hand and kiss along the reddened knuckles of his hand, not missing the wince as my lips touched the tender skin. I close my eyes and count to ten, trying to calm down. There was a knock on the door then and a woman comes in. She looks just like Tifa. I stare in shock as she sits on the other side of Cloud and takes his other hand. She has tears in her eyes. "Oh baby, I am so sorry, if I knew he would have gone this far I wouldn't have gone to the shop to pick everything for dinner." She sobbed quietly. Cloud shrugged and just kissed her cheek, "its ok, Mum. Nothing I can't handle. Umm I have something to ask you actually," he murmured to her. She sat up slightly, rubbing her face of her tears and smiled softly at her son. "Of course, what is it hun?" she asked just as quietly. Head tilting slightly, I observed silently, squeezing Cloud's warm hand in mine. "Well, could I stay at Zack's for a few days please? I promise to ring you every day, and I'll eat properly too." he almost begged the woman in front of him. Eyes shining full of hope.

She smiled at him and then turned her features towards me, "I don't believe we have met, I am Aerith, Cloud's mum. You must be Zack," she said, smiling gently. I scratched the back of my neck, smiling sheepishly. "Ahh yeah, I am Zack Fair, it's a pleasure to meet you ma'am." He replied almost nervously, as he looked at Aerith, the woman almost gushed over something or other and just looked at Cloud with a knowing look. Making the cute blonde blush sporadically. "Muum, stop looking at my boyfriend like he's a piece of meat!" the blonde whined, pouting like a child as his mum giggled at his face. "Sorry baby, but you've caught a lovely one this time," she said as she stood up, winking at me, "Dinner will be ready in ten minutes boys, I have you sat next to each other, with Lulu on the other side of Cloud," she said as she left, closing the door behind her. I sat that flabbergasted. Had Cloud's mum really been checking me out then? I felt someone pinch my arm and looked down at my pouting boyfriend. "What?" I asked him stupidly; he sighed and stood up to only straddle my legs, with his knees either side of my hips on the bed. I raise an eyebrow at him. "My mum approves of you; I already know that from the look she was giving us." He murmured before placing his lips against mine in a chaste kiss. I blinked in shock before detangling my hand from his and sliding one around his back and the other to his unharmed cheek, putting more pressure against his lips as he began to pull away. The kiss lasted for a few minutes, tongues slipping out to softly tease the others lips as teeth gently nibbled at the others' lips. My hand had somehow ended up under the back of Cloud's top and slowly massaged his hip. Hips that were slowly grinding against my own. And then the door opened and Lulu stood there, looking like the cat that got the canary. "Stop molesting each other and come downstairs for dinner, before one of the three stooges come up here," she said just loud enough to break them out of their little make out session. Cloud blushed and hid his face in my neck as I just grinned stupidly.

**Hey there everyone! I am so so so so so so so sorry about the really late update _ So many things going on at the moment with Christmas happening soon and extra hours at work.. It's exhausting. **

**Many thanks to all who have reviewed, you know who you are! **

**Much love **

**TamaChan~**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey guys, really sorry about not updating in forever, so much crap has gone down I don't even believe it :/ **

**Anywho I don't own anything just the plot. **

Letting Go

Chapter 9

Cloud POV

So after being rudely interrupted by Lulu, we untangled from each other, only keeping our hands locked together. I smiled at Zack, as we made our way down to the dining room. The tension in the room was palpable; you could cut it with a knife. The three stooges as Lulu liked to call them we're sniggering to each other about something or other, I just rolled my eyes at their childish behavior as I sat next to my cousin, pulling Zack into the seat next to me. Sephiroth was sat at the head of the table, next to Lulu and Kadaj, as I'd placed Zack next to my mum. I smiled at her; she smiled back sweetly before telling us we could dig in. I picked up my knife and fork and dug in, as everyone else did the same. I was glad I would be going home with Zack tonight. I smirked around my food as I thought of what we could get up to.

As we ate there was idle chat between everyone at the table, the three stooges telling Sephiroth about how they pummeled some poor kid in their homeroom, whilst my mum and Zack struck up conversation about his home life, his hobbies and just plain getting to know each other. I felt something nudge me in the ribs and looked to the side to see Lulu looking at me seriously, "So how bad is it this time?" she murmured so only I could hear her. She must have seen my wince when she nudged me. I sighed and replied to her, "I think I have a broken rib, huge bruises up my back, my jaw was dislocated but mum sorted it, it's getting worse with each beating Lu," I grimaced as I looked up to see her angry expression. I reached for her fisted hand and squeezed it. "Its okay, Lu. I'm staying at Zack's for a few days anyway, mum's Okayed it." I smiled softly at her. Her eyes widened when she heard that I'd be staying with Zack for a few days. "Oh right, don't do anything I wouldn't," she said with a smirk. Now if anyone didn't know Lulu as well as I did, then they would be shocked at the next comment out of my mouth which earned me a jab in the side, "That's not a lot then is it Lu," I smirked then winced at the jab.

I looked up laughing at her face and felt another pair of eyes on me; I looked around and noticed Sephiroth looking at me. _He must be pissed that I'm happy enough to smile and laugh with my cousin. _I smirked and turned to Zack. Everyone had finished eating by now. My mum stood up to clear the plates but I stood up with her and helped her clear them, helping her prepare the pudding. "Mum, do you like Zack?" I asked nonchalantly. I noticed her posture stiffen slightly, then she turned to me smiling, a small blush on her cheeks. "Well Cloud, he is quite the catch isn't he. He wouldn't stop talking about how great you are during dinner. He admires you so much baby," she said to him softly, cupping his uninjured cheek lovingly, rubbing her thumb over it before kissing his forehead gently. We bustled around the kitchen cleaning the plates before heading back to the dining room with plates of Devil's Food Cake. It was my favorite.

I sat next to Zack and dug into the chocolatey heaven. I moaned at the taste of it on my tongue and saw Zack blush in the corner of my eye, I smirked at him, slipping my hand under the table to squeeze his knee making him jump, prompting my mum to ask him, "Are you okay dear?" He just nodded quickly, sending me a quick glare and pout. I chuckled before continuing to eat my cake. As everyone finished their food, we all talked about the generic things going on in the news. Like new mako excavations and such. _Tifa would've been against this. _ I sigh to myself, causing Zack to look at me concerned. I smile at him reassuringly. After pudding, me and Zack went back to my room, where he decided to lie down on my bed and never move from. I chuckled at him as I rummaged in my closet for some clothes to pack for my stay at his house. I bent over to grab my duffle bag out from under my bed and proceeded to dump in on Zack who was starting to doze on my bed.

As Zack sat up I chucked three pairs of jeans, two pairs of joggers and four tops into the bag before grabbing four or five pairs of boxers to throw in too before searching for socks. "What? I'm packing clothes, don't look at me all confused puppy like, it makes me want to kiss you again," I said to him, pecking him on the lips as I zip the bag closed before slipping my DCs on and pulling a hoodie on over the top of my clothing. He looks at me dumbfounded before grabbing me around the waist and pulling me onto my bed, causing me to scream a little. Before I can say anything my mouth is covered with his as he slowly kisses me. My arms wrap around his neck and pull him closer. I feel his tongue trace my bottom lip; I open my mouth willingly and moan as our tongues battle it out. I feel his hands travel down my body to hold my hips as he grinds his own against them, my legs spreading apart of their own accord.

"Zack~" I gasp out as his lips attack my neck, nipping at my jugular and sucking gently. I moan again, kicking my shoes off to wrap my legs around his hips and grind against him, letting my head fall to the side as he attacks my neck with vigor. He shifts and suddenly our groins are lined up perfectly, I mewl out his name, ignoring the fact that everyone could probably hear what was happening downstairs. I pant and gasp out his name. Moaning and groaning in Zack's ear seemed to spur the older lad on; he moaned my name, hands cupping my arse, bringing me closer to him as he captured my lips again. "Zack, gods don't stop," I moan at him as he bites the juncture of my neck and collarbone whilst slipping his hands down the back of my trousers. I feel his fingers glide over my hole, my breath hitches as my eyes glaze over. I tug his top over his head and run my hands over his chest toying with his nipples. He's just about to drag my tops off when someone knocks at my door. We freeze and look at the door.

**Okay guys, again sorry for the late update and the cliffhanger… But I inserted some yummy stuff in there :P **

**Thanks for all the reviews again, I feel like I have neglected you, I apologise profusely! **

**Thanks Tama-Chan **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I do not own Final Fantasy VII. Square Enix does. **

Letting Go

Chapter 10

Zack

We turned to look at the door. I was pissed that our impromptu make out session had been interrupted. I looked at Cloud, who looked towards the door with trepidation and sat up slowly pushing me off of him. "Hey what's the matter?" I ask him softly, he looks scared, almost as if he's worried about who might be on the other side of the door. He swallows loudly and stand up off the bed, there's another knock at the door and he stiffens up slightly. He walks to the door and turned the handle slowly. He opens the door and stands back as the tall man from dinner walks in almost shoving him over. His eyes rove over the room, eyes landing on the bag on Cloud's bed angrily. "Where are you going?" he practically seethes. Cloud flinches and fiddles with his top, eyes downcast as the man turns towards him, ignoring me. "Uhm, mum said I could stay at Zack's for a days," Cloud mumbles, only just loud enough for me to hear. I see the man bristle at the mention of my name. He turns his head slightly, glaring at me with his luminous teal, cat like eyes. Cloud looks at me, there's something in his eyes that makes alarm bells go off in my head. Almost as if he's telling me to get out whilst I can. I frown and then all of a sudden, Cloud is pinned to the wall, the man towering over him, as his hand holds Cloud up off the floor by his throat. I saw red, standing up so fast, the blood rushed to my head. I could see Cloud squirming and gasping for breathe. "Put him down!" I all but shouted at the man. He turned his head to look at me. His eyes in a sinister glare. His lips smirking as he tightened his hand around Cloud;s throat causing his normally pale complexion to turn a blueish purple.

"What are you going to do, Puppy? You aren't big enough to take me on." He smirked before dropping Cloud to the floor, kicking him in the stomach before leaving the room. His silver hair flowing behind him. I was at Cloud's side in a moment. I cradled him to my body. I checked his throat, there was definitely going to be bruises there soon, and gently lifting his top I could already see another bruise forming on his torso, adding to the many already there. "You are not living here anymore." I said firmly. I wasn't taking no for an answer. Not if attacks like that were a frequent happening. I shuddered at the thought of leaving him here, I wouldn't allow it. I picked up, cradling him in my arms and led him down on the bed. I didn't want to leave his side. "Zack, don't get my mum involved," Cloud managed to croak out of his overly sore throat. I had thought about telling her but if he didn't want her involved then he must be worried that the same would happen to her. My breathe caught in my throat as I thought of what that man could do to such a lovely woman like Aerith. "Of course, babe. Where's another bag? I meant it when I said you aren't staying here." I murmur into his ear as I cuddle up to him. Placing a sweet kiss on his forehead. "Under the bed should be another duffle bag," he murmured tiredly. Placing another kiss to his lips, I let him rest and moved to dig the other bag out from under his bed. I placed it on the bed, and in the space of the next hour, dug all his clothes out of drawers and folded them into the two diffle bags. Cloud fell asleep in that time. I was worried about him, his so called step father had beaten him in front of me. I counted to ten in my head to try to calm myself down and continued to pack his things. When I knew he was sound asleep I snuck out of his room and took the two bags to my car. Placing them in the boot. As I walked back inside, I saw Lulu talking to Aerith.

"Hi," I say quietly, letting them know about my presence. Lulu looks at me, and tilts her head in confusion whilst Aerith just turns and frowns, before turning her head the other way as if in shame. "You knew he was abusing Cloud, didn't you Aerith? You knew he was getting hurt and not doing anything about it," I mutter, my expression incredulous as I realise it's the truth. I shake my head and turn to walk up the stairs. "Zack, I don't want Cloud to be hurt anymore. I can't stop Sephiroth, or his boys. He's too strong. I've tried to get Cloud out of this house, but Sephiroth always seems to get in the way," Aerith almost sobs. I look at her, and notice Lulu practically shaking in anger. I hug Aerith and make eye contact with Lulu and say in a monotonous tone, "Cloud is going to live with me from now on, I can't stand by and watch him get hurt by that asshole," I seethed as I hugged Aerith to me as she finally let the tears fall. As her tears stop, I release her and give Lulu a look, a simple follow me look. I leave the room and go back upstairs. I walk through Cloud's doorway just as he wakes up. He looks around blearily and tried to sit up, grimacing at the obvious pain in his stomach. "Don't sit up," I whisper, I know he heard me as I walk towards him. I sit on the bed next to him, I look at the door as it opens revealing Lulu. She smiles softly before joining us on the bed.

"Hey Cloud, you feeling alright? Zack told me you're going to be living with him for a while," she said softly, stroking his hair at the same time. I smiled softly, and grabbed some more of Cloud's things to take to my car. I placed it all in the boot and made my way inside again, when I reached Cloud's room I could see three figures hanging around outside of it. I fold my arms across my chest and clear my throat. I see all three of the brothers jump and turn to look at me. "What do you think you're doing?" I ask them, tilting my head to the side. They look at me, Kadaj steps forward trying to intimidate me, "Ohh just seeing what all the commotion is about, I heard Cloud is being kicked out," he smirks, trying to get into my face. I smirked and motion for him to come forward, as his head comes close to my own I swing my head forward, headbutting him. He falls to his ass, "Get your facts straight, Cloud is moving in with me for the time being. No one has kicked him out," I say to them, stepping over Kadaj and into Cloud's room as Lulu finishes getting him ready to leave. As we walk from the room, I see Sephiroth at the end of the hall, we continue walking, ignoring him. As we manoeuvre the stairs I see him glaring at me from the landing, I glare back and unlock my car, helping Cloud into the passenger seat. I let Lulu say goodbye and Aerith a moment with her son before I pull out of the drive. Holding Cloud's hand tightly.

**A/N: Thanks for being so patient with me guys. I do apologize about not updating in ages**

TamaChan XD


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I do not own Final Fantasy VII.. Square Enix Does. All rights go to them. I just make the characters do naughty things. **

Letting Go

Chapter 11

Cloud

After being attacked by my step father again, I felt like hell. I knew he'd broken a rib or two with that kick. I sighed as I stared out the window of Zack's car. I feel his hand tighten on mine slightly as he changes gear. I think back to how this day started and smile softly, being mindful of the bruises on the side of my face. I tighten my fingers around his as I think back to our first kiss on the roof top. I blush just thinking about it. "What you blushing about, huh?" I hear Zack whisper conspiratorially. I chuckle and hide my face in my free hand as I glance at his face through my fingers. His carefree smile, bright eyes with crows feet wrinkles starting to show from the amount of times he smiles and laughs. I sigh and lean my head on his shoulder. "Oh nothing. Just thinking about today," I murmur softly, afraid to break the tranquil mood in the car, with just the sound of rock music in the background coming from the radio. I hum along to the song, not even acknowledging the worried glances I kept receiving from Zack. After a few minutes we pulled into a modest looking driveway, flowers lined the path and crazy paving made the path way to the front door. I smiled and said softly to Zack as he unbuckled his seatbelt, "I could get used to living here, it's beautiful and homely." His smile, if possible only got bigger as he hugged me to his side. I gasped at the pain in my ribs and covered my mouth with my hand as he pulled away sharply. His eyes darken slightly, "How badly are you hurt? You passed out pretty quickly at yours," he whispers, holding me gently.

I shrug, "It feels like I have a broken rib or two, but I can't tell unless I go to a hospital, which I am not doing," I say, glaring and shuddering at the thought of going to the hospital and lying. He looks at me closely before getting out of the car, walking round to my door and opening it for me. He looks at me, waiting for me to take his hand. I take it, feeling him pull me out of the car and against his chest. "Well it's a good thing for you, my Ma is a nurse. She'll patch you up," he smiles at me sweetly. My eyes widen, and I feel the tears start. How could he like someone like me, he's seen me beaten up by my step dad and still wants to be with me. I hug him tightly, ignoring the pain radiating through my abdomen. I hear a door open and a gasp, before strong arms wrap around me, hugging me closer to the strong body in front of me. I hear Zack say something to someone, but my ears are buried in amongst his arms and I can't hear anything. It's all muffled. I feel Zack pull away and lift my face up with his finger on my chin. His eyes are glassy with unshed tears. I can't stop the first tear from falling as he leans forward and captures my lips in a soft kiss. My eyes slid shut slowly, my arms travelling up his arms to cradle around his neck, pulling him closer to me. I feel him pull me harder against his body as he turns us suddenly. I feel the car bonnet under my back, as he leans over me. The bonnet is just the right temperature so it doesn't burn me. I cling to him as he continues to kiss me senseless. His hands cradle my face gently as he pulls away. His thumbs brush under my eyes, taking the tears with them. "I am glad I have you Cloud. Hell I'm lucky you even looked my way. Tifa would kick my ass if she us right now," he whispers, his lips brushing mine with every word.

I smile and hug him tightly, before my ribs make a horrible cracking sound in protest. He lets go of me as I gasp in pain again, clutching my side. I feel the tears falling down my cheeks before I can stop them. And suddenly, I'm being lifted and ran inside the lovely little house. I close my eyes against the pain. "Ma! Help me!" I hear Zack shout as he places me on something soft after much jostling. I pass out from the pain, after hearing Zack's voice, "Cloud, stay with me. Stay awake!" Clutching my hand tightly. After what seems like minutes in my head, I crack my eyes open. The curtains are drawn and there's a small lamp on to my left. I move my hands, at least one of them rubs my face, the other is occupied by a sleeping Zack. I smile softly and stroke his cheek with my free hand. I try to sit up and find that I can't, I look down at my torso to find it stiffly wrapped in bandages. I wonder what happened, before Zack mentioning his mother was a nurse ran through my head, and then I passed out after I hugged him. I facepalm as I remember everything that happened that day. I let my eyes search the room for a clock, finding a small alarm clock on the bed side table. It was eleven pm, damn I must have been out for hours. I frown and close my eyes again. I sigh and squeeze the hand in my grip. As if being stung, he wakes up, immediately alert. He looks at me and almost breaks into a happy dance to see I'm awake. "Hey, you're awake," he mumbles, voice ladden with sleep. He ruffles his hair, and climbs into the bed beside me, hugging me to his body. "Keep quiet, my ma will kill me if she sees me hugging you after she had to reset your ribs," he mumbles sleepily into my hair.

I chuckle and cuddle up to him, mindful of my ribs and fall back to sleep. The next morning I am woken to the sound of someone falling out of the bed. "Zachary Fair! I told you he needs his rest! That does not mean suffocating him in his sleep with hugs!" I open my eyes and see a woman with hair exactly the same shade as Zack's and smile. She was beautiful. I giggle at the sight that Zack made. His mother had just yanked him out of the bed by his foot. He looked like a kicked puppy. The sound alerted them and they both turned to me. His mother blushed and straightened up, "Sorry if we woke you dear, my imbecile son can't do what he's told," she says in a very motherly way. I smile and chuckle at how Zack almost shrinks to about an inch big. "I'm Aoife, by the way." She smiles again before leaving, giving Zack a stern look. He sighs and gets back into the bed. "So you met my ma. She's a devil. She's just about to leave for work," he mumbles, pouting at being told off like a child. I laugh at him and end up smothered with a face full of Zack chest. I blush furiously and sputter. Hiding under the duvet. I poke my head out, showing just my hair and eyes, to see Zack with his phone out, and suddenly I hear the click of the camera and shoot out of the duvet, trying to reach for his phone. He merely stands and hold his phone out of the way. I huff and pout at him, giving him the saddest eyes possible.

I suddenly find myself on my back, my lips being attacked by his. I moan into his mouth and thread my fingers through his hair. I notice we've both only got sweat pants on. I blush realising my chest is exposed except for the bandages and bite my lip in shyness. He chuckles and takes the lip I'm biting into his mouth sucking on it. My breathe hitches and I become painfully aware of a certain hardness against my thigh and moan out loud. My hips buck a little against his stomach, my erection fairly obvious through the joggers. I blush and bite my lip as his lips attack my neck again. His hips aligning with my own and we start a simple rhythm. I latch my teeth into his shoulder to muffle my moans as I get closer. His hands travel softly down my torso, sliding under my pants and I feel his long fingers wrap around my length. I moan loudly and throw my head back, exposing my throat which he takes full advantage of. "Zack, please... Oh gaia! Let me cum, please.." I beg him, blushing madly. He smiles against my throat, as his fingers release me to pull my joggers down, he follows them down and is soon hovering over my dick. I gasp as I feel his hot breathe over my over sensitive length and buck into his mouth as he descends slowly. His hands on my hips stop me from choking him as I moan out his name, he's doing things with his tongue that I never thought was possible. I feel myself getting closer to the edge, I realise a little too late that my hands are in his hair, pulling slightly. "Ahhh, Zaa... I'mm.. .Cumming!" I explode in his mouth, he swallows my cum, not missing a drop, and makes eye contact with me before I blush and kiss him softly.

**A/N: So another chapter in only two days... Wow.  
So I gave you all a treat in this one :3**

Hope you all enjoyed it

TamaChan~


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